Aragon’s music department welcomed guest performers from the San Francisco Wind Ensemble for their first concert on Aug. 27, and guest cellist Dr. Jeremy Crosmer from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, who helped teach String and Advanced Orchestra classes.
Crosmer came during a break from his professional orchestra. Aragon Orchestra teacher John Chen says, “On Wednesday, he lead sectionals for the cellos… . On Thursday, he did the same thing with advanced orchestra.”
Because each section in the orchestra plays a unique role, it helps to have an extra set of ears. Dr. Crosmer explains, “The cellos and the bases have different parts from the violins, so they need to rehearse different things. It’s good to have fewer people in one room, so you can hear what everybody is doing and talk to people one-on-one.”
Freshman bass player Ryan Victor found it helpful to learn in a small group with Dr. Crosmer, who gave advice on intonation, counting, and how to [develop] better sound. “He gets more in depth. He just has the cellos and basses to teach, instead of the whole orchestra,” Victor adds. “It’s cool because we get help from a professional.”
Not only did Dr. Crosmer give playing tips, he also talked to the class about life as a professional musician and symphony player. Although junior violinist Haley Ogasawara doesn’t aspire to be a professional musician, she still found the talk motivating. “It’s cool because you can see [what can happen if you practice and work hard.]”
Becoming a professional cellist took many years of practice for Dr. Crosmer. He has been playing the cello since he was four years old and is a Doctor of Musical Arts, which took nine years of school. Dr. Crosmer advises young musicians to keep practicing and adds, “Ask your teachers for opportunities outside of school, like music festivals over the summer are the best place to go.”
In fact, Dr. Crosmer and Chen met at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado and are celebrating their 10-year reunion after first playing together.
To keep up his love of music, Dr. Crosmer says, “I just find ways to have fun because if you don’t have fun when you’re playing music, there’s not really any point in doing it.”
On Aug. 27, the Aragon Wind Ensemble had the opportunity to perform with another guest performer, the San Francisco Wind Ensemble.
The two ensembles performed both separately and together. Aragon played songs including “At Morning’s First Light” by David Gillingham, and “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Joe Hisaishi with the San Francisco Ensemble. The San Francisco Wind Ensemble also played a few pieces on their own, including “Alternative Energy” by Mason Bates.
The concert occurred just one week after school began, so students practiced hard to get ready for their first big performance.
“We started rehearsals in class right away on the second day of school,” Davis says, “and students ran some sectionals outside of class, as well as practiced on their own time.”
The concert isn’t the last Aragon will see of the San Francisco Wind Ensemble.
“They are our guest artists in residence, so there’s three more concerts coming up in which our wind ensemble will be performing along with them,” says Davis, who also serves on the San Francisco Wind Ensemble Board of Directors.
The music department plans to welcome more guests throughout the year besides Crosmer and the San Francisco Ensemble, especially in preparation for their summer tour.
“This summer we are touring Italy, so we’re playing music that is themed Italian,” says Davis, “and we’ll be having guests come in that are going to be doing presentations about the music and food in Italy, so that people are prepared as we go along.”
